Dear Colleague,
Thank you for your interest in the Patriot Connect program! We are excited to share recent updates with you.
Building the Student Contact Record in Patriot Connect
The product build team, which is responsible for determining the functionality and design of Patriot Connect, has been focused on configuring the student contact record. The student contact record serves as a centralized place where staff, faculty, and students can view academic, student support services, and relevant personal information depending on their role-based permissions. It helps those who meet with students to gather context and come to appointments fully equipped to provide support tailored to students’ specific needs. The product build team is carefully considering all aspects of the student contact record—a core feature of Patriot Connect—to ensure it contains the most relevant and timely information, displayed in a user-friendly and efficient manner. Key information that can be found on the student contact record includes undergraduate and graduate academic details, cohorts and attributes, academic term enrollment, learning program(s), course offerings, assigned tasks, past and upcoming appointments, referrals, interaction summaries, and holds. By centralizing this data, the student contact record offers a comprehensive view of each student, eliminating the need to search across multiple systems. Quick access to this information enhances the effectiveness of appointments and student support services, fostering stronger relationships between students and their success team.
Patriot Connect Peer Trainers Needed
This month, the Patriot Connect training and organizational change management (OCM) team is finalizing the training curriculum, which includes on-demand learning materials and live instructor-led training (ILT) for Patriot Connect users. The ILT courses will be peer-to-peer, meaning the training you receive on how to use Patriot Connect will come from your George Mason University colleagues. As such, the training and OCM team is seeking volunteers to become Patriot Connect peer trainers. End-user training for Student Success is scheduled for late March and early April, with peer trainers expected to deliver about two live training sessions each. Before conducting live sessions, peer trainers will participate in preparation activities starting in January. They will receive all necessary materials (e.g., slide decks, demo guides, etc.), get early access to Patriot Connect, attend preparation sessions to learn how to deliver the training content, complete self-learning exercises, and participate in at least one practice session with the training and OCM team. If you are interested in becoming a peer trainer, fill out the Let’s Connect feedback form before you leave for winter break. Please include your George Mason email address and indicate your interest in being a peer trainer on question seven. The Patriot Connect training and OCM team will follow up with additional details and next steps.
Collecting Faculty and Staff Input
Over the summer, the Patriot Connect OCM team organized a student focus group to collect feedback on an initial mockup of Patriot Connect. With significant progress made on the platform, the OCM team recently conducted focus groups with faculty and staff to gather essential insights for driving training and adoption ahead of the official launch in April 2025. These focus groups, which included a total of 16 faculty and 15 staff, started with a brief overview of the Patriot Connect platform and a demonstration of how to use it to prepare for and conduct an appointment with a student (including a post-appointment referral), followed by active dialogue about confirming training needs, encouraging end-user adoption, and identifying feedback loops for the future. The participants emphasized the importance of hands-on training (particularly for those less familiar with current platforms like Navigate) and suggested automating set-up processes where possible. They also stressed the need for accurate data for training and at go-live. Ultimately, the feedback collected will be instrumental in the successful adoption of the platform at George Mason.
On the Horizon: Putting Patriot Connect Student Success to the Test
The product build team has been working hard to design and build Patriot Connect and soon it will be time to put the new platform to the test. To ensure the system functions properly and is ready for go-live on April 30, 2025, Patriot Connect will undergo two types of testing: end-to-end system testing and user acceptance testing (UAT). Both are crucial but serve different purposes and involve different team members. End-to-end system testing is technical in nature and focuses on verifying that the entire system, including all its components, integrations, data, and security, works as expected from start to finish. This type of testing is typically conducted by quality assurance engineers and testers who simulate scenarios to ensure the system’s overall performance. UAT is more functional in nature and is performed to verify that the platform meets the university’s business requirements, accurately reflects the correct processes and user experience, and is ready for deployment. UAT is usually carried out by end-users such as George Mason staff and faculty who test the system based on real-world scenarios provided by the UAT facilitators. End-to-end system testing and UAT will begin in the new year and will be one of the final phases of Release 1: Student Success before end-user training and go-live.
Patriot Connect Change Champion (PCCC) Spotlight Series
This series introduces the PCCCs who are dedicated to supporting you and the George Mason community as we transition to Patriot Connect. Discover their roles, what motivates and inspires them, and a fun fact or two. Get to know the December spotlights, Sadie Mele and Sara Simanski!
In Case You Missed It
- November PCCC Spotlights: Jessie Lee and Michael Ouellette
- Did you know you can find last month’s update on the program website?
As always, we welcome your feedback. Please feel free to share the sign up form with your colleagues who are interested in staying up to date with Patriot Connect.
Sincerely,
The Patriot Connect Program Management Team